Hello there, today I am back with a showcase of some of Katrina's new map designs. I gave you a look at Katrina's throne room a few posts back, so today I'm going to focus on a few other places, both recreations of old rooms and completely new locations.
As I have mentioned before, I am doing a minor refocus of Katrina to her aspect as "the Blood Queen", centering in on her blood witch / vampiress / red baroness aesthetic. The gothic characteristics are still there, but I have slightly reduced them since I want Selena to be the gothic Domina. What that means is Katrina's realm now has a bit more of the deep reds in it, which also matches the entire game's color theme, and I think that fits just great considering Katrina is the first experience offered by the game.
One of my main missions with this remake is to extend the player's time in each realm by adding some more plot in the form of short-story questlines that thematically and organically tie in with what's already there. Originally, there were only two important characters in each Domina's realm respectively; the Domina and the player. This wasn't what I wanted to do, but money didn't exist for more character sprites/CGs at the time, so that's what I got stuck with. This started changing a few updates later with the addition of the Lost, both the mobs and the named characters you could chat with. Now in the remake, I am taking my chance to put as many new characters as I wish and make the story exactly as I want. However, I don't want to just add new stuff for the sake of it, so the new additions must either: 1) Contribute to the main storyline, 2) Enhance the depth and lore of the respective Domina by showcasing aspects of her personality and past, 3) Serve a mechanical purpose, like "the mob-farming place", and/or 4) Exist just to make you horny.
With that in mind, Katrina now has an entire new Dungeon in her realm where she keeps human slaves, consisting of both failed Champions who gave up the fight and men kidnapped from Earth. The slaves live underground and work her subterranean farm, serve as "entertainment", and are used as a resource to fuel Katrina's Blood Engine, a profane alchemical machine deep underground that powers the entire castle. In addition, like many other Dominas now, Katrina also employs lesser mistresses and handmaidens, meaning human women taken from Earth to be taught the ways of female supremacy and dominion. They are mostly responsible for the (mis-)treatment of slaves in the dungeon, but not all of them agree with Katrina's ideals...
The Catacombs have been expanded considerably and are now a vast labyrinthine mortuary system that sprawls below the entire castle. This is where Katrina's numerous victims are left to rot restlessly or stored for later necromantic use. As you already know, this is also where Lost Champions, drained of their souls, still walk aimlessly. With your health no longer auto-refilling after battle, and with various changes to the stat system itself, venturing deeper into the "mob room" will be a serious task that will require preparation and supplies like brewed potions. These rooms are designed in a way that you can't complete them fully immediately, and you will have to return to them at a higher level (like when you are Narcissa-tier) to reach their boss room without dying. The rooms also reward exploration with hidden passages and riches here and there, but also traps.
The Twilight Keep also has 2 new wings, one for the alchemy shop and one for the smithy. The crafting system is getting a big glow-up, but I'll delve deeper into that later on.
The last image (or gif, rather) is the recreation of the scene where you drink Katrina's potion and finally gain a real chance at Llavanya's quest. This is likely the most important plot device of the story, so the scene has been left mostly untouched.
That's all for now. Happy new year everyone! Hope we all have a great 2026 ahead of us :).